State of the Union?

When Ted Nugent is the esteemed guest of a Republican congressman, you know the state of the union is sick.

And, I use the word "sick" not in the current meaning of "cool" or "hip," but rather in the original definition, as in ill.

When the slaughter of 20 kindergartners is considered merely the price of freedom, by gun-nuts like Nugent, then this nation is sick, as in depraved.

When Republicans would rather see the country go in the tank than to compromise with President Obama or Democrats, then 8 percent unemployment becomes the new normal.

When the GOP's great "brown" hope in Sen. Marco Rubio votes "no" on the Violence Against Women Act, along with 21 other Republican senators, then you know the GOP still has a long way to go.

This doesn't help the GOP buff its brand in order to attract voters.

Here's a story that shows why the Republican brand is losing its mojo on economic matters.

If Republicans blame their poor "messaging" for losing the presidency yet again, well, the message in this story rings loud and true.

But, the new GOP message is to de-fund government at the state level so that Mississippi, the poorest and least educated state in the country, is the new economic model for all "red" states.

Meanwhile, corporations continue to make record profits due, in part, to the fact that they pay no taxes.

Here's a story showing how many billions that major corporations did not pay in taxes.

These corporations say that the corporate tax rate is so high, they have no choice but to avoid paying any taxes at all. Can you imagine if the corporate tax rate gets cut? We'll be paying corporations with our tax dollars.

Yes, the state of the union is a bit under the weather.